Table saw under £150? Ryobi ETS 1526AL?

[Oldman]

Thanks for the reply Sooty, as far as spares go the machine has a 3yr home use warranty so if parts fail in that time B&Q or the suppliers would need to sort it or replace the machine.
If I buy one and get 3yrs from it at just over £112 thats £37 per years use and if it has no value at all after that I will still be happy enough.

I should be retired and have loads of time for all the hobbies but the way things are in the UK atm I am too busy working to have too much fun.

 

[cambournepete]

How about this one on fleabay?
Currently £20, and I doubt it will go much above £100...
Only 5 hour left mind.

 

[Digit]

Tilting table type though Pete, never could get on with 'em myself. Solid though.

Roy

 

[Oldman]

Thanks for the pointer but to start with its a long way from me (collect only) and secondly I think with my engineering background I could manufacture something better than that looks using one of my circular saw's mounted upside down in a frame :wink:

I have been looking at ebay for a local sale (Kent)

 

[skinns]

i had a ryobi table saw or rather i should say i had three each one lasted about a week gave up in the end and now have a cheapo wicks one for the last six months cant fault it

 

[slemishwoodcrafts]

I have the macallister tablesaw, not the one shown there, but very similar except for the router mounting facility. Ive had mine 3 years now and can't fault it. Changed the blade to a CMT 40 tooth combi from aximinster and it made the saw into a completely different machine. I have found it to be very accurate for all my work

regards,

michael

 

[Oldman]

The local B&Q store have contacted me to say they now have 1 of these in stock, I will go take a look at it on Wednesday with a view to purchase if it looks ok.
Thanks for all the input everyone.

 

[Oldman]

I am now the proud owner of a B&Q special.

I did go against the opinions of most here as I really dont have the spare money atm to go for an Axminster.

Some have commented that they have the macallister tablesaw and that its ok, for what I ended up paying I think I have my moneys worth even if it did take a few hrs to put together and I have one stripped thread in the plastic blade surround mount, plus 1 knob with no thread in the insert. Changed that for a stainless M6 wingnut already.
Had to tap out all the M6 threads in the alloy table as they had been filled with paint when sprayed.
I am yet to cut anything, just looking round for "how to's " for using table saws as I have not used one before.

Found the expert village vids and have to say that I have way too many safety features on mine if the way he uses his is the same as everyone on here!

Anyone want to point me at a good "how to use a table saw safely" video on line before I plug it in? :wink:

 

[Digit]

Found the expert village vids and have to say that I have way too many safety features on mine if the way he uses his is the same as everyone on here!

Absolutely not! Most need our fingers for other uses!

Roy.

 

[Oldman]

I probably should know this but I dont.

Whats the cutouts and knobs for on my new table?

I tried my router against the other end that I do know the use of :wink: and it seems I need to drill and counter some new holes to fit that.

 

[OPJ]

I'm not sure what that's for in your first picture - could it be a means for mounting a jigsaw upside-down?

 

[Rich]

When I phoned Eastleigh for info on the same, they were reluctant to endorse the inverted router as that part of the table did not have clearance from Europe, that did'nt stop me, they said the other slot was for inverting a jigsaw, I did'nt bother with that and I did'nt have the 4 knobs either, so you've got me there too.

Rich.

 

[Oldman]

Well I can see me using an inverted router on the saw table, but I dont see me using my old battered jig saw on it so if thats what its for I will ignore it ;-)

I've still not powered the saw yet, I spent some time looking at it from an engineering point of view and can see where I could make the blade height mechanics run with a lot less slop in the drive, but for now I just checked the blade for 90 deg etc.

I did throw away the nasty bit of metal they supplied to fit the T slot for the mitre fence. It was 1.5mm undersized to the slot meaning that neither a right angle to the saw bed nor a degree setting could be set with any accuracy.
I made another alloy bar that fits the T slot exactly with no play and shimmed the protractor so the fence did at last have a 90 deg angle to the bed. It now fits and slides nicely in either T slot.

I may just get round to trying a cut or two this week

 

[mark king]

Hello Oldman

I'm looking to get a TS under the same conditions and restraints you stated.

Have you tried your macallister out yet as I came via another route to the same machine, seems a good buy but not seen it for real yet.

Any advice on what to look out for, I see you have modified the T bar, can you expand a bit [any photos] on what you did.

Cheers

 

[Oldman]

Hi Mark, and welcome from me to the forum.

I have still not had the time to rig up a power feed to try the saw out, too much real work keeps getting in the way. As my workshop is brand new it has no power as yet, just another job to add to my list!

I will try and fire it up this week to make sure it works

I will try and take some pics of the saw and mitre fence mod this week too.

 

[mark king]

Thanks Oldman

I've got some time today so I'll go visit B&Q and take a look and if I'm pleased I may well take one.

You never know I might even get it powered up toooooooooo.

I'll look forward to seeing the mod you did though so I can replicate it.

I see some comments that these cheaper ones tend to be very noisy any one had any success with some sort of quiet box.

Regards

 

[Oldman]

Well It runs Mark Did you buy one?

I put a temp supply to it and fired it up, I've not owned a ts before so cant comment on the noise compared to others, but it is no noisier than my hand held circular saw.
I did just love the way I could cut 45 deg with repeatability though.

Of course I have not had time to even think of making anything using it, but it has meant that any timber I have cut with it has square ends.

As far as the mitre fence is concerned I really dont think the plastic protractor is ever going to be 100% for me and I am considering buying an alloy one for its lack of flex.

I may take the advice and change the blade for a finer one that also may be quieter, but for now its ear protectors and of course face guard.

 

[Webby]

I know this thread is 3 years old .....but how did it work out ..........was it rubbish or a good buy .......would be interested as 3 years later I am going down this road and don't want to invent the wheel

cheers

 

[Webby]

I just noticed some of these people have not been on this forum for a long long long time :roll:

so probably wont get any replies

Dave

 

[AnRuaRi]

I would also like to know how things turned out.

The MacAlastair looks like it's no longer avaialble. Is it possible that it was a re-badged ryobi? B&Q only stock the cheaper of the Evolution Rage5 saws now. - plus a few Performance Pro items like bandsaws and planers.